The Hunter says something to the twins, but I can’t hear his words over the sound of my grief. He speaks to them with a kindness I don’t understand, a softness that is incongruous with the man I know.
And then, they leave.
Maia and my sisters just... go. My heart cleaves in two, and they take one half with them.
And the pain . . .
Burning suns save me, but the pain is far worse than anything I’ve ever experienced. It burrows deep down, latching on to the very parts that make me...me.
I don’t know if there’s a way for me to ever come back from this.
Rationally, I know Gabriel is right and the twins will be better off with Maia. After all, death has been following me since the day I was born Marked, destined to be sacrificed.
Irrationally, all I can think about is the fact that they’re leavingme.
I’m not sure how much time passes before I hear footsteps coming towards me. My Mark is cool, and the flames are gone, but I still haven’t moved.
“We need to go, Wren.” Gabriel’s voice is soft, and this time, I know I’m not mistaking the compassion in his voice.
I fucking hate this. I hate that Gabriel has seen me break down, that he made them leave, that he’s beingniceto me.
It was easier to hate him when he was cruel and telling me how much fun he had hunting me. Easier when it was just me and him. Hunter and prey.
Not . . . whatever we are now.
“I don’t want to,” I confess.
I press my cold fingers against my wrist, tracing my bracelet and the solitary sun hanging there. I try to let Amelia’s artifact ground me and give me strength, but it doesn’t work.
Nothing’s working.
Even though my flames have disappeared, the chasm inside me feels like it will never heal. Not after this.
Maybe I should stay here and wait for the king to find me. Honestly, it probably would’ve been best if I had let him kill me yesterday. At the very least, it would’ve been easier than saying goodbye to my sisters again.
Better than feeling like thisagain.
There’s a long pause, and then the Hunter murmurs, “I know. But I won’t leave you.”
I should fight Gabriel or ask why he’s doing this. I should kick and scream and tell him to leave me the fuck alone. Can’t he see that I’m hurting? That I’m broken and done and want to be left to die?
But my mouth is dry, I am heartbroken, and words seem so, so far away.
Hands grip my hips, and suddenly, I’m in the air. Gabriel carries me like I weigh nothing, and I don’t fight him. I can’t. The cost of my sisters’ safety is that I’m alone again, and this time...
I have nothing left.
6
CHAOS AND TRUST
GABRIEL
“We’re going to stop and find shelter soon.” My voice is low, but it booms through the quiet night, seeming far too loud.
My arm is banded around Wren’s waist. She’s sitting in front of me, her back a rigid board despite the hours we’ve been riding. The sound of the horse’s hooves on the Broken Road, the trade route connecting Rosebridge to Moorn, is all I can hear. We’re surrounded by nothing but trees, so Wren could speak if she wanted to...
But judging by the way she’s been silent since we left the capital, she won’t.
